Rosie O'Donnell suffers heart attack: "I am lucky to be here"

The comedian revealed the news of her recent health troubles in a blog posting, saying that she began to feel ill hours after helping to lift a larger woman from her car at a shopping center parking lot last week.

"a few hours later my body hurt / i had an ache in my chest / both my arms were sore / everything felt bruised," she recalled in her standard verse format.

"muscular - i thought / strained or pulled tissue / i went about my day / the pain persisted / i became nauseous / my skin was clammy / i was very very hot / i threw up / maybe this is a heart attack / i googled womens heart attack symptoms / i had many of them / but really? - i thought - naaaa."

O'Donnell further revealed that in addition to her internet research, television adverts for the Bayer aspirin brand gave her tips for surviving the heart attack as it occurred.

"i took some bayer aspirin / thank god / saved by a tv commercial / literally / by some miracle i was not one of them," she explained.

The 50-year-old sought treatment from a cardiologist the next day and underwent an EKG, where it was discovered that her coronary artery was 99% blocked. She was sent to a local hospital, where a stent was placed in order to increase blood flow.

O'Donnell wrote that she feels "lucky to be here" as "they call this type of heart attack the Widow maker". She also urged women to be aware of heart attack symptoms and to call 911 if they feel they are experiencing one, rather than forgoing immediate treatment as she herself did.